I still remember when I first watched Firefly, when I saw the final episode of its truncated FOX TV run. That episode is called "Objects in Space," and in it, a bounty hunter named Jubal Early boards Serenity in pursuit of Simon and River.

I thought it was such a peculiar episode at the time—it was written and directed by Joss Whedon, and it's an odd way for a series to go out. Not with a bang, but with a lot of tense one-on-one exchanges and bass clarinet solos.

I've rewatched the whole series a couple of times, and the each time, I'm more and more impressed with just how good "Objects in Space" is. The writing is outstanding, with all sorts of weird beats and tics, and Richard Brooks gives a tremendous, idiosyncratic performance as Early. It's funny, it's exciting, and at times, it's genuinely tense and terrifying.

I particularly like the scene above, in which Simon asks Early if he's Alliance.

"Am I a lion?"

"...What?"

"I don't think of myself as a lion."

Rest in peace, Jubal Early. You had a mighty roar. And you also got to have the final line of Firefly: